Placing Road Conceptualization at the Front of the Line

Bentley’s OpenRoads ConceptStation could change the way roads are designed and built.

Imagine seeing an entire highway upgrade happen before your eyes – in just 10 minutes.

It isn’t as impossible as it seems. Bentley OpenRoads ConceptStation promises to change the way our roads are built.

This type of road design conceptualization can be done with Bentley OpenRoads ConceptStation. (Image courtesy of Bentley Systems.)

This type of road design conceptualization can be done with Bentley OpenRoads ConceptStation. (Image courtesy of Bentley Systems.)

ConceptStation is the latest extension of Bentley’s OpenRoads software for modeling and analyzing road designs. It introduces what Bentley is calling “conceptioneering,” the idea that a user can assess larger issues such as financial, environmental and engineering performance requirements while designing a project.

This will ultimately help civil engineers and designers create a single draft of a project proposal that will meet programmatic requirements, saving time and effort in the project.

Exploring ConceptStation

Bentley recently announced this new software at its Year in Infrastructure 2015 conference, where I had the opportunity to take a closer look.

From an aerial view, ConceptStation resembles what might be seen in a mapping application such as Google Maps. It shows an existing highway and draws a line along the road to identify its features.

The line finds and aligns itself with the highway and uses civil roadway guidelines to sketch permissible curvature.

It also constructs an interchange and adds girders to an overpass for extra support. Finishing touches, such as trees, spring up to fill out the rendering. Finally, ConceptStation shows simulated cars driving along its newly created highway.

Making It Look Easy

The creation of the new roadway with ConceptStation looked like an easy enough process. This is exactly why the software has the potential to change the way roads are designed and built.

Road systems are generally dependent on a multiple-stage process. Engineers have to create models before a concept visualization can be rendered, which means that issues might not be discovered until well into the design process.

ConceptStation moves the concept visualization stage to the same level as model creation. This shift can save time and labor by performing engineering tasks automatically. Customers will be able to see computer visualizations of projects early in the design process to ensure that they are getting what they want.

An added benefit of this announcement is that ConceptStation integrates with Bentley’s other OpenRoads offerings, placing valuable tools for survey, drainage and road design into one software suite.

For more information, check out the Bentley Systems website.